Father Bertrand High School

adison Avenue. The parish was founded for African Americans (stated as "Coloreds" in that era), and Bishop Adrian asked the Franciscan Friars of St. Louis to staff the new parish. A building at 903 Walker was purchased by the Diocese of Nashville from the "Women's and Young Women's Christian Association of Memphis, Tennessee" on June 3, 1937. Though still unnamed, most assumed (wrongly, it proved later) that it would be named after the black Peruvian Saint Martin de Porres. On July 19, 1937 Bishop Adrian officially appointed Fr. as pastor of the new parish. St. Augustine of Hippo
In a letter from Bishop Adrian to Fr. Bertrand on July 31, 1937 the Bishop informed Fr. Bertrand that his petition to Rome to name the new parish in honor of Blessed Martin DePorres had been denied. The Bishop suggested either St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Paul the Apostle or St. Catherine of Alexandria since they were all associated with apostolates in Africa. The first Directors of the Parish were William F. Taylor, J.S. McDonald, A. Braxton, Dr. W.B. Woods, Dr. Chris Rouhlac, and Dr. J.W. Hose. Dr. J. W.Hose, a Catholic convert, had actively urged Bishop Adrian to support the Negro community. History shows that Bishop Adrian was not fully disposed towards equity for the Negro; he was entrenched in the restrictive beliefs (for people of color) of his era. Dr. Hose was the true supporter. By August 14, 1937, the parish had been named St. Augustine, because the title was used when an agreement was signed with the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque, Iowa to conduct a school for the new parish. A Foundation Laid for Education
Father Bertrand worked hard to assemble second-hand furnishings--as was the custom for even state-run educational institutions for people of color. And, on August 18, two of the 600 Sisters who had volunteered to teach "colored children" in Memphis, arrived to assess the three-story building that Father Bertrand had fasioned as the Catholic School and Convent. Ultimately, four Sisters were chosen and approved as the new faculty. Ironically, the Sisters were met with unexpected hostility from whites, who were less than excited about the prospect of Negroes being educated. The first Mass celebrated at the new parish by Fr. Bertrand was on August 28, 1937, the Feast Day of St. Augustine. On September 5, 1937, Bishop Adrian visited the new parish and officially installed Fr. Bertrand as Pastor. In September, 1937, St. Augustine's School opened to 90 students, and by the end of October it had an enrollment of 131. Two thirds of the children in the school professed a faith other than Catholic. Four classrooms accommodated eight grades on the second floor of the building. Catholic students paid $1 a month tuition; children of other faiths were charged $2 a month. "Father B" Fills Pews
Slowly there was growth. In the beginning, the new parish had about 32 adult Catholics who had come from St. Anthony Parish, but through the school and convert classes, its membership quickly increased. During the first year, Fr. Bertrand baptized 145 men, women and children. The number of parishioners by the end of the year was about 300. In the following years, the average number of converts was 70 persons. During these years, Fr. Bertrand went regularly to dead-end streets to preach and, on some evenings, showed movies and slides to children and their parents. Eventually, he was stopped by the police who used anti-noise laws as the reason for bringing the outdoor catechizing efforts to an end. The first class graduated from St. Augustine High School in 1944. Fr. Rene, OFM, designed and built a two-story annex to the school in 1944-45. As the school expanded, five "gunshot" houses were purchased in 1946 and 1947 and converted into classrooms. By 1948, the number of BVM Sisters staffing the school had increased from four to fourteen, and the children in the grade school and high school totaled 570. A Season of Growth
Fr. Bertrand wanted to establish another church east of St. Augustine's, in Orange Mound, where 800 homes owned by African Americans were located, but a lack of funds doomed the project. He did, however, celebrate Mass at private homes in the area. Over 475 persons were baptized in the first seven years of the parish's existence. By 1957 St. Augustine counted 1,326 parishioners. A new high school, named after the founder of the parish, Father Bertrand, was dedicated in 1957. It was built at 1169 Kerr Avenue, under the supervision of Fr. Capistran Haas, OFM. Afterwards, plans were made to build a church on the grounds. Those plans were dashed when the Diocese of Nashville decreed that St. Augustine's would cease, and that all members would become members of St. Thomas Parish, a parish that had been staffed by Diocesan clergy and, whose members were white. Despite strong objections from its people, St. Augustine Parish was transferred to St. Thomas Parish St., located at Trigg and Lauderdale, in 1965. Naturally, "white flight" began and the Parish became more and more black. The First Black Priest
Shortly after Martin Luther King's, in 1968, Father James Lyke, OFM (Father Jim) asked the Franciscans to send him to Memphis. They agreed. It was at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis and many of the St. Thomas parishioners were on the front lines of the fight for equality. Father Jim was first the Assistant Pastor, but his energy and passion soon moved him to leader of the flock. Father Jim helped instill African American cultural aspects, including the gospel sounds he first knew as a Baptist, within the Catholic tradition during his pastorate. Most importantly, he led parishioners to a deeper understanding of what it means to be both Black and Catholic. Father Jim eventually became the 2nd Black Archbishop of Atlanta in Georgia, and died shortly thereafter. In 1970 Father Bertrand High School, Sacred Heart High School and Catholic High merged to become Memphis Catholic High School. The facilities being used as Father Bertrand High became the first Catholic elementary school under the name of St. In January, 1988, Bishop Daniel Buechlein gave approval for the return of the name of St. Augustine Parish and the building of a new church on Kerr Avenue which was joined architecturally to Father Bertrand High School. The new Church was dedicated on July 23, 1989. Father Carroll Mizicko was the pastor at the time

The School Closes
St. Augustine School was closed due to declining attendance and increased costs in 1995. Father Frank Coens, OFM, became the Pastor in 1996. Because of the generosity of two anonymous donors in the Memphis community, St. Augustine re-opened, as the first of eight Memphis Diocese Jubilee Schools, in August 1999. The first principal was Mrs. Sally Hermsdorfer. Soon after the schools reopened, the Franciscans informed Bishop Steib, in 2001, that they would return the Parish to the Diocese. Father Coens, became the last Franciscan pastor and left on June 30, 2002. A new era was about to begin. The Paulist Arrival
Bishop Steib met with the Paulist Fathers and urged them to take over the priestly ministry at St. Father John J. Geaney, CSP was appointed by the Superiors of the Paulist Fathers and granted faculties by Bishop Steib, in June, 2002. Father Geaney arrived in Memphis on September 5, 2002, exactly 65 years from the date on which Father Bertrand was installed as pastor of the old St. Father Geaney's vision has been to continue leading the Parish with a respect for the Black Catholic traditions, while linking them securely in the Catholic faith's support of social justice. Click here to see Father G's profile. Throughout the whole year of 2007, the Church celebrated its 70th Anniversary. Augustine continues to be active in the local neighborhood with liturgical, civic, educational and social activities that impact Memphis and history continues to be made. Here's to the next "70 Sacred Seasons Anchored in the Lord."